Dak Nong takes precautions against chemically contaminated pepper

Mr. Dong added that recently, according to warning information from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment , some shipments of Vietnamese pepper exported were found to be contaminated with Sudan Red. This is an industrial colorant banned from use in food.

Through initial verification, the main cause is that some people preserve pepper in colored packaging, use poor quality colored drying tarpaulins, and do not meet food standards during harvesting, leading to the contamination of colorants into the product.

The incident was only a small-scale contamination of a few shipments. However, since Sudan Red is an industrial chemical that is not used in food, timely recommendations are needed to prevent possible risks.

Many organizations and individuals in Dak Nong have used standard white packaging to preserve pepper.

The Department of Agriculture is actively coordinating with the Farmers' Association, the Cooperative Union, the Provincial Business Association and related levels and sectors to provide information and propaganda to control and prevent the risk of Sudan Red infection in pepper production.

Dak Nong strives to improve food safety quality of pepper products, contributing to protecting the reputation of the Vietnamese pepper industry in the market.

Dak Nong currently has 33,230 hectares of pepper, with an output of 72,000 tons in 2024. The province's pepper is the leading in the country in terms of area, output, and quality and has been granted the geographical indication " Dak Nong Pepper".

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/dak-nong-de-phong-ho-tieu-nhiem-hoa-chat-253447.html